Printing taximeter



Feb. 10, 1925.

1,525,856 L. EHRLICH PRINTING TAXIMETER Filed Jan. 13, 1919 4 Slnets-Sheet 1 .13 g //Y VE/Y T08,

Feb. 10, 1925. 1,525,856

L. EHRLICH PRINTING TAXIMETER Filed Jan. 13, 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 57 L/CH o O Q Feb. '10, 1925.

1,525,856 L. EHRLICH PRINTING TAXIMETER Filed Jan. 13. 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet s 4|||||||l||l I l Illllllllllll illlllllllllllllllllllllllllll L50 EH L/CH.

mum 70E Feb. 10, 1925.

Filed Jan. 13, 1919 TAXI CA 8 COMPANY 1191; EA! 3:45 L50 a uq 0 CHECK Mk9.

1,525,856 EHRLICH PRINTING TAXIMETER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEO EHRLIGH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO O'HMER FARE REGISTER COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PRINTING TAXIMETER.

Application filed January 13, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LLEO EI-IRLICH, citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Impovements in Printing Taximeters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to taximeters of 1 the type usually employed on motor vehicles for calculating the tariff according to the conditions under which the vehicle is hired.

To this end, the invention has in view a simple and practical form of taximeter involving relatively few parts, and which may be readily manipulated to give a charge on a mileage basis or a time basis and in the former case also to take in consideration the number of passengers carried. In this connection the invention proposes to provide a taximeter which is practically fool proof since it cannot be tampered with by the chauffeur and which also constitutes an absolute check on the amount of cash he turns in and the number of miles his machine travels during the day. Accordingly, it will be understood that the present invention aims to provide a taximeter which will givethe total miles traveled, the amount to be collccted'foreach trip, the total amount 'collected during the day and the time of the day at which each particular transaction took place.

' A further object of the invention is to provide a taximeter wherein no dials or indicating numerals are visible to either the operator or the vehicle or occupants, whereby the operator of the vehicle especially is kept in ignorance of the totals and can only ascertain the "amount to be charged for each particular transaction by inserting a printing checkor receipt in a properly provided opening, whereby upon the operation of his For hire flag suitable mechanism will cause the printing of the check.

7 With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts .hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed. t

A preferred and practical embodiment of Serial No. 270,951.

the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is anend elevation of the complete taximeter showing the clock which comprises the time computing mechanism, and the F or-hire flag resting in its downward position, which position it occupies at the beginning of a trip.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the opposite end of the meter with the For hire flag swung upward to exhibit its For hire legend as at the end of a trip, and when the chauffeur prints a ticket for the passenger.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the meter when the cab on which the same is installed is occupied, the For hire flag being in its downward position.

Figure 4; is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the For hire flag raised to expose the'ticket receiving slot and also showing the For hire legend.

Figure 5 is a detail top view of the interior mechanism of the meter showing the main speed driven shaft and the transfer shaft respectively of the driving and transfer units.

Figure 6 is a front elevation of the arrangement shown in Figure 5, showing the computing shaft of the computing unit arranged beneath the transverse shaft shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a detail edge view of one of the cash printing disks.

Figures 7 7 and 7 are side elevations of the disk constituting the charge printing unit.

Figure 8 is a detail view showing the clock and associated instrumentalities which operate the time printing wheels.

. Figure 9 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Figure 8, illustrating how the clockwork operates the time printing wheels and charge printing unit when the vehicle is hired'on hourly or time basis.

Figure 10 is a detail elevation of the check printing mechanism.

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic View illustrating the intermeshing of the gears of the transverse shaft with the gears of the driving and computing units respectively, according to the number of passengers carried by the vehicle.

Figure 12 is also a diagrammatic view of the gears which intermesh. to register the total mileage of the vehicle.

Figure 13 is a more or less diagrammatic view showing the initial charge registering mechanism.

Figure 13 is a detail view illustrating a form of clutch used in connection with the initial fare segment. V

"Figure 14 is a View illustrating a form of ticket which is stamped by the machine.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings. Referring to the drawings it will be observed that the present invention primarily includes. three co-operating units which may be caused to give the desired registrations according to the conditions under which the vehicle is hired. That is to say, the present meter device especially embodies in its organization a' primary driving unit designated generally as A, a novel transfer unit ,B'which may be shifted by the operator of the vehicle according to whether the vehicle is hired by one or more persons, or on a time basis, to connect the primary driving unit A with a suitable computing unit O which includes a plurality of counter units D, E, F and G for respectively registering the time of day, the charge for each individual trip, the total charges registered for the day or other predetermined period, and the total number of miles traveled by the vehicle.

For the sake of clearn ess, unnecessary duplication of parts is avoided and all nonessential elements are not shown in' the accompanying drawings, but as will be clearly observed from Figures 1 to 5 the present device includes a suitable housing or casing 1 having at one end thereof a clock 2 exposed to view, .and the customary For hire flag 3 on the front thereof, the same however being of novel construction and per/forming novel features as will hereinafter more fully appear. At the bottom of the casin 1 a suitable'fiexible shaft 4 leads to one o the vehicle wheels, and the end of this shaft which extends within the casing is provided with a worm 5' adapted to mesh with a worm gear 6 rigidly carried by a shaft 7 journaled longitudinally of the easing 1 and carrying thereon a lurality of driving gears, 8, 9, 10 and 11 W ich arerespectively reduced in diameter to provide a differential effect for apurpose that will presently appear. This shaft 7 having rigidly fixed thereon the gears 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 constitutes the primary driving unit A which is at all times driven by the movement of the vehicle, and therefore may be'c'onvenient-lyutilized to operate the total maleage unit G of the computing un1t C-as Wlll hereinafter appear. a 1 1 Suitably supported within the casing 1 1n substantially. the same plane as the shaft 7 of the.main driving unit, is the transfer shaft 12 of the transfer unit B, said shaft carrying thereon a plurality of spaced gear wheels 13, 14, 15 and 16 which are also of graduated diameter whereby the wheel 13 of largest diameter, may, under certain concut speeds according to the number of passengersoccupying the vehicle during the hired period, and. the longitudinal shifting of this shaft 12 is accomplished by the operator against the tension of suitable resilient clutch fingers 17 shown in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings.

That is to say, for facilitating .the longitudinal shifting of the transfer shaft 12,

the same is preferably provided at one end adjacent the resilient clutch fingers 17 with a finger gripping knob K which is loosely mounted on the shaft 12 to prevent any rotary movement thereof which would be likely to move the gear wheels carried thereby. In other words the knob K is swiveled on the end of the shaft 12 and exposed at one side of the casing so that the operator may conveniently grip the same with his fingers and push it in or pull it out, but will not be able to impart any rotary motion thereto to. change the'reading of the totalizers through the rotation of the several gear units carried thereby. Thus, when the.

shaft 12 is manipulated as above described to cause gears 11 and 13 to intermesh it will be understood that the said shaft 12 will be driven at a relatively slow speed, since these gears are intended to mesh when one passengeroccupies the vehicle. When two passengers occupy the cab gears 10' and 14: are thrown into mesh, and likwise when there arethree and four occupants of the vehicle gears 9 and 15 and 8' and 16 respectively are brought into mesh. Obviously, the greater number of passengers carried, the greater the speed of the'shaft 12 owing to the ratio of gears which intermesh for the given setting-of the shaft 12. In connection with the knob end of the shaft 12 it will be observed that the same has four annular grooves corresponding to the four gears on the intermediate part of the shaft for computing the-total charge according to the "number of passagers, and also has a neutral groove which serves the purpose of holding the entire shaft 12 in neutral position to prevent the intermeshing of any of the grooves of the transfer and primary driving unit, as shown in Figures.

and 6 of the drawings. Further, the shaft is hired on a time basis. Therefore, it will be apparent that the groove nearest the knob K is the time groove while the other four grooves on the opposite side of neutral correspond to the number of passengers carried.

The opposite end of the shaft 12 beyond the bearing therefor is also provided with a series of rings and intervening notches for the purpose of cooperating with a suitable locking plate 12 associated with the flag 3. That is to say, the end of the shaft 12 opposite that having the knob is preferably provided with a narrow ring 12 at one side of a relatively wide neutral ring 12 which provides a groove therebetween for receiving the plate 12 when the flag is turned down and the vehicle isbeing hired on a time basis. On the other sideof the neutral ring 12 are the rings 12 and 12 and '12 having corres onding notches therebetween into which t e plate l2 may ride when the flag is turned down and the vehicle is hired by one, two, three or four passengers. The said locking plate 12 carried by the flag 3 is provided with a notch 12 in its periphery which is adapted to register with the relatively wide neutral ring 12 when the flag is in its upward or For hire position, thus making it, impossible to turn the flag down unless the shaft 12 is first shifted either one side or the other of the wide neutral ringto permit the plate to ride in one of the grooves between the narrow rings, according to whether the vehicle is hired on a time or passenger basis.

Accordingly, it will be obvious that the notched plate 12 which is carried by the flag 3 serves to lock the flag inits For hire position because of the engagement of the neutral ring 12 in the notch, thus it will be impossible for the operator of the cab to turn the flag down when there is no occupant in the vehicle. This feature compels the shifting ofthe shaft according to the conditions under which the vehicle 18 hired before the flag is lowered, and then when the flag is lowered the presence of' the plate, in one of the notches between the rings constitutes a lock or key-to prevent longitudinal shifting of the shaft, 12 so as to change'the rate at which the meter is recording. In other words, before the operator of the 'cab could shift from a one passenger rate to a two passenger rate it would be necessary for him to first liftthe-flag to indicate that the vehicle was for hire which ,would of course expose him to detection /by attracting the attention of the occupants of the vehicle.

The rotation of the shaft 12 at different speeds according to the number of passengers occupying the vehicle is of course utilized to operate the proper unit of the computing device C namely the charge printing unit E, and to this end the shaft 12 is provided relatively adjacent'one end with a relatively wide gear 18 which is adapted to mesh with a relatively wide gear 19 On the fixed shaft 20 of the computing device C. This shaft 20 is intended to be rotated at the same speed as the shaft 12 and hence the gears 18 and 19 have the same number of teeth. As will be observed from Figure 6 each of the computing units D, E, F, and G are supported on the shaft 20. And, at this point it may be noted that the units D, F and G are absolutely independent of the shaft 20, merely being supported thereby, while all of the disks of the charge printing unit E are-"also independent of the rotation of the shaft 20 with the exception of the hundredths of cents or mills disk (1 which is fast on the shaft 20 and is con-' nected up in the well-known manner with the tens of cents, units'of dollars and tens of dollars disks 6, 0, and d respectively.

It will therefore be apparent that as the shaft 20 is directly actuated by the speed of the vehicle through the transfer shaft according to the number of passengers or occupants, the disks of the charge printing unit E will be properly actuated to give the correct totals. And, at this point it may also be noted in connectioh with the computing unit C that the shaft 20 supports adjacent the unit E a charge totalizer E which consists of a plurality of disks 6, f, g

operation of the meter by the vehicle the shaft k will be rotated through the meshing of the gear in carried by one end thereof with the gear it carried by the mills disk a of the charge printing unit. The purpose of the clutch device Z is to permit the gear j to be idle when the disks of the charge printing unit are reset to zero after, each trip, and this should be borne in mind since it is obvious that the charge printing unit must be reset to zero after each hired period.

The foregoing describes the mechanism whereby 'the charge is registered if the vehicle is hired on a mileage basis, and according to the number of passengers occupying the vehicle. However, if it is desired to hire the vehicle on an hourly or time basis, the shaft 12 will be driven by the mechanism of the clock. 2, and in order to carry into effect this operation of the shaft on the shaft 7 has fastened thereto a rela-' tively small gear or pinion 23 which is directly in mesh with a large time gear 24,di-

rectly driven by the mechanism of the clock 2. Therefore, it will be clear that when the vehicle is hired on a time basis the shaft 20, and the charge printing unitv E will be .driven through the gears 18 and 19 which always remain in mesh, and the former of which, carried on the shafts-.12, will be driven directly bythe clockwork .mechanism because of the intermeshing of gears 21,22, 23 and 24. 3

Another function of the-clockwork mechanism is to operate thetime rinting unit D which consists of a pair of isks p and g as clearlyshown in Figure 6 and is loosely supported on the endof the shaft 20, relatively adjacent the unit E, whereby when a ticket is inserted beneath the disks of both units D and E a record may be easily made of the time of day and the charge forthe articular trip. As will be observed from igures 6, 8 and,9, this time printing unit D is operative direct from the clockwork by the time gear 24 turning the gears 23 and 22, which latter has on one face thereof the diametrically disposed and offset fins 25, adapted to engage with the projecting pins 26 carried by a wheel-27, which pins in turn engage with a star wheel 28 connected in the well-known manner with the minutes indicating disk 79 of the time unit D. Thus, in this way an accurate register of the time may be kept by means of the disks p and 9 so that the time of each particular transaction maybe readily ascertained.

Before proceeding to a description of-the printing mechanism, it maybe noted that "the total mileage indicating unit G mounted loosely on the shaft 2O of the computing unit C is actuated directly by the traveling of the vehicle through the medium of the main operating shaft 7 havin thereon the gear 8, which as previously indicated is relatively wide to admitof being engaged with the gear 16 of the transfer unit, and also with an idler gear 29 (Figs. 6 and 12) which meshes with another gear 30 carried by a sleeve 31 loosely mounted on the shaft 20 and fastened directly to the units disk :1,"

of the mileage totalizer unit G. This disk is connected in a conventional, manner with the remaining disks of the unit, whereby when the same is rotated through the gear train 8, 29, and 30 the total number of miles traveled by the vehicle may be accurately registered. It will be understood in connection with this unit that the gears 8, 29 and 30 always remain in mesh so that all travgling of the vehicle is accurately regis-' tere As previously indicated when the vehicle is for hire, the flag 3 is in its elevated position as shown in Figure 4, and when the vehicle is hired the chauffeur shifts the shaft 12 so as to either place the gears 21 and 22 in mesh t0 register-an hourly hiring charge, or shifts it in the other direction to cause the gears 11' and 13 to be in mesh which indicates that the vehicle is hired by a single person for the trip. Having set the shaft 12 so that gears 11 and'13 are in mesh for instance the flag 3 is lowered to the position shown in Figure 3 and held in this position by the spring detent element 32. Then, after the hiring period is over the flag is released and raised so as to expose the ticket receiving slot S and permitting the insertion of a ticket as will hereinafter more fully appear, so that the. operator after the insertion of a ticket in the slot may manip ulate a suitable handle 33 to accomplish the printing of'the registered data on the "ticket, and also on a permanent record roll to be retained in the machine.

7 However, before proceedin detailed description of the printing mechanism reference will be made to the means for accomplishing a. minimum charge registration on the disks of'the charge printing unit E. Therefore, by reference to Figures 1 and 13 it will be observed that the flag 3 has pivotally connected therewith a sector to a more- 34 having the slot 34 for receiving a pin 34 carried by a part of the flag, and furthermore, the flag 3 carries therewith a suitable spring 34 which is ada tedto engage with the sector 34 when the ag is in its lowered position. The said'sector 34 extends within the casing 1 and engages with a transfer gear 35 which in turn meshes with the gear.

92 of the units disk 5; of the charge printing unit E to thus cause the unit to give a minimum charge registration in event that the cab is not hired for more than a certain period. "When the flag 3 is lifted the sector 34 is in its lowermost position as shown by dotted lines in Figure 13 and the spring 34 is out of contact therewith, but when the,

flag is lowered at the beginning of the hiring period the spring 34 carried by the flag 3 will engage one edge of the sector 34 and push the same upward to the position shown in full lines in Figure 13 at which time the pin 34 will be in the lower end of the slot. 34 The pushing upward of thesector 34 of course causes the transfer gear 35 to rotate but owing to the interposition of any suitable clutch arrangement as indicated by z and associated with the gears 35 and 35 this upward movement of the sector does not effect the indication given by the units disk at of the printing unit E. As the vehicle starts to operate and the units disk (4 is driven, the transfer wheel 35 will also be driven through both the wheel 35 which meshes with the gear wheel at of the disk at, and the clutch device 2 to thus cause the sector to be moved downwardly against the tension of the spring 34 untll the last tooth of the sector clears the gear 35, providing of course that the vehicle has traveled far enough to cause the sector and gear to disengage. In the latter case of course, no minimum charge is necessary because the traveling of the vehicle or the hiring thereof has exceeded the minimum tariff, but in case the time or distance travelled is not enough to exceed the minimum tariff, it will be understood that the sector will not entirely disengage the wheel 35, whereupon the upward movement of the flag 3 will cause the sector to complete its path of travel with respect to the gear 35 and assume the dotted line position shown in Figure 13, thereby advancing the units disk of the fare printing unit a suflicient distance to make up the balance between the amount of the hire and the minimum charge. Accordingly, it will be apparent that the sector-gear arrangement 3435- 35' in combination with the flag 3, assures the registration of a minimum charge in event that the hiring period of the vehicle according to'a predetermined tariif does not exceed the established minimum charge.

As previously indicated at the end of the trip the operator releases the flag 3 from the detent 32 whereby it may be free to be pushed upward to exhibit its For hire legend, and in which position it will be held by the detent 36. When the flag is thus raised at the end of the hiring period the ticket slot S is exposed and it is incumbent upon the chauffeur to set his transfer shaft 12 again in neutral. Otherwise, the further movement of the vehicle would charge him with fares at the rate at which the vehicle had just been hired. When the ticket slot S is thus expoad the chauffeur inserts a ticket within said slot which is such a width as to permit of the registrations ofthe units D and E being printed thereon, i. e., a record of the'char for the trip, and the time at which the trip was completed. The tickets are serially numbered and a record is of course kept of the number of tickets given the operator of the cab before starting out, so that when he checks in at the end of his day he will be compelled to account in some way for all missing tickets. Of course, those tickets given to customers will be missing but a record of the amounts on said tickets is retained in the machine and the owner of the cab can readily check up the chaufieurs returns from the number of tickets missing and the permanent record.

The printing of the passengers fare receipt or ticket as well as the permanent record within the machine is accomplished through the manipulation of the operators handle 33 at the end of each hiring period, and in order to obtain a clear understanding of the printing means reference may be had to Figure 10 of the drawing which shows an-interior printing frame 37 pivoted as at 37 and held in its normal downward position by means of a spring 38. The free end of this frame 37 is adapted to be engaged by a suitable angular portion 33 of the handle 33 whereby the backward movement of the handle will cause the frame to beelevated on its pivot 37. This frame carries transversely thereof a printing roll 39 having at one end thereof a ratchet wheel 40 which is preferably engaged by a check lug 41 carried by the frame. and an advancing lug 42 carried upon the meter frame, whereby as the frame 37 is moved back to its normal downward position by the spring 38 following each upward actuation by the end 33 of the handle, the ratchet wheel 40 will be advanced one tooth. The said printing roll 39 carries thereon asuitable record sheet which extends beneath all of the units D, 15,]? and G, and has secured thereto by means of a suitable clamp 43 a record sheet, whereby with the aid of inked I ribbons, or their equivalent, not shown, the registration of the disks of the several units above mentioned may be impressed on the record sheet each time the handle 33 is rocked backward. The printing of the fare receipt, may with the aid of an additional ribbon, take place simultaneously with the printing of the permanent record, or if one single inked ribbon is employed,,the handle will have to be moved backward once to print the passengers receipt and then again to print the permanent record of the time and amount of the particular transaction, etc. on the permanent record sheet.

At the end of each trip, after printing the charge on the customers ticket, it becomes necessary to reset the wheels of the charge printing unit, and therefore the shaft 20 is provided with an exterior operating knob 46 which may be engaged by the operator and rotated in a proper direction to cause the disks a, b, 0 and d of the unit E to be brought back to zero, since it will be remembered that the disk a of this unit E is theonly disk of theseveral units mounted on the shaft 20 which is made to rotate therewith.

From the foregoing it will be clear that the present invention essentially includes in its organization a main driving unit consisting of a driven shaft and a' plurality of of diflerent diameter all of which are cupying the vehicle.

driven at the same speed, and a shiftable transfer unit under the controltof the operator which includes a shaft having thereon a plurality of gears of different diameter adapted to be respectively shifted into mesh with corresponding gears of the main driving unit, according to the conditions under which the vehicle is hired, whereby the transverse shaft is driven at different speeds according to the number of passengers oc- The speed of this transverse shaft is in turn transmitted to a computing shaft which in turn operates a charge computing, registering and printing unit whereby the cost of each trip at a predetermined tarilf may be automatically calculated. These features together with auxiliary devices heretofore described cooperate to produce a meter which'will give all of the desired information regarding the conduct of the cab operator and also the performance of the vehicle during a given period to thus constitute a check on the operator and give the passengers the benefit of an accurate and untampered with charge.

I claim:

1. A taximeter including a main driving shaft, a computing shaft, a transfer shaft mounted to be shifted axially from a neutral position in opposite directions, means actuated by a manual thrust parallel to the axis ofsaid shaft, a permanently meshing gearing connection between the transfer shaft and the computing shaft, and gears of different diameter on the driving and-transfer shafts adapted to be engaged by the shifting of the said transfer shaft.

2. A taximeter including a main driving shaft journalled in a fixed position, a computing shaft also journalled in a fixed position, a transfer shaft adapted to be shifted axially in opposite directions, clutch means engaging said shaft and adapted to yield when the shaft is subjected to a manual thrust in the direction of its axis, a permanently meshing gearing connection between the shiftable transfer shaft and the computing shaft, gears of progressively increasing diameter on the driving shaft, and gears of progressively decreasing diameter on the transfer shaft adapted to be shifted with a snap action into and out of mesh with the gears on the driving shaft as the transfer shaft is moved.

3. A taximeter including a main driving shaft, a computing shaft, a transfer shaft shiftably mounted with reference to the first two mentioned shafts to be moved in opposite directions parallel to its axis by a manual thrust, and said transfer shaft also having a plurality of check positions thereon including' a neutral check position, a permanently meshing gearing connection between the transfer shaft and the computing shaft, gears of progressively increasing diameter on the driving shaft, and a plurality of gears on the'transfer shaft corresponding in number to the check positions tions on opposite sides thereof, a perma-' nently meshing gearing connection between the transfer shaft and the computing shaft, a clock-work driven gear loosely mounted on the driving shaft, a time pinion on the transfer shaft, gears of different diameter .on the driving shaft, gears of different diameter also on the transfer shaft and corresponding in number to the distance check positions of the transfer shaft, and manually manipulated means connected with the transfer shaft for either shifting the same from its neutral check position to connect the time gear with the clock-work driven wheel for shifting the same in the opposite direction for causing a gear on the transfer shaft to mesh with its corresponding gear on the driving shaft.

5. A taximeter including a main driving shaft, a computing shaft, a transfer shaft mounted to be shifted in opposite directions parallel .to its axis by a manual thrust, a permanently meshing gearing connection between the transfer shaft and the computing shaft, a clock controlled gear, a time gear on the transfer shaft, gears of different diameter on the driving and transfer shafts, and means for maintaining the transfer shaft in a neutral position whereby the time gears and the gears on the driving and trans- -fer shafts are normally out of mesh, and

whereby the shifting of the said transfer shaft to one side of neutral connects the time gear while shifting to the other side of neutral selectively engages certain of the gears on said driving and transfer shafts.

6. A taximeter including a main driving shaft, a computing shaft, a transfer shaft, a permanently meshing gearing connection between the transfer shaft and the computing shaft, a clock-work driven gear. drive gears of different diameter on the driving shaft, gears of different diameter on the transfer shaft for engaging with the clockwork driven gear and the said drive gears, a plurality of check rings on the said transfer shaft and also a plurality of locking rings thereon, yielding clutch means for engaging the check means, and flag controlled means for engaging with the locking rings.

- between said first mentioned shafts, a plurality of check rings on the transfer shaft, a plurality of locking rings thereon, yielding clutch means for engaging the check means, and flag controlled means for engaging with the locking rings.

8. A taximeter including driving and computing shafts, a shiftable transfer shaft constituting the operative connection there- 'between, check means carried by the transfer shaft, means for yieldingly engaging the check 'means, and flag controlled means adapted to be moved into position to prevent shifting of the transfer shaft while set in a tariff position.

9. A taximeter including a main driving unit consisting of a shaft, means for driving said shaft, spaced gears of different dialneter rigidly fixed to said shaft and representing the number of passengers occupying the vehicle, a transfer unit includin a shaft adapted to be shifted longitudinally and having thereon gears of progressively decreasing ratio adapted to be selectively enmeshed with mating gears on the shaft of the driving unit to drive the transfer shaft at diflerent' speeds according to the number of passengers in the vehicle, a clockwork driven gear loosely mounted on the main driving shaft, and a time registering gear mounted on the transfer shaft whereby when the latter is shifted to cause said latter gear to be enmeshed with the drivin shaft, the transfer shaft may be operated by the clockwork, and a computing unit including a computing shaft operatively geared with printing disks, and permanently meshing gears between the transfer and computing shafts.

10. A taximeter including a main driving unit consisting of a shaft adapted to be driven by the movement plurality of spaced gears ameter mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith, a transfer unit inclu ing a shaft having a plurality of gears of different diameter mounted thereon in spa'ced relation and adapted to rotate with said shaft, a clockwork driven gear loosely mounted on the shaft of the driving unit, and a time gear fixed on the shaft of the transfer unit, clutch means yieldingly engaging said shaft,

a knob on the shaft exterior of the meter 1 casing for permitting shifting the shaft of v the time gear on of the vehicle, a.

of different dithe transfer unit longitudinally against the tension of the clutch means to selectively enmesh any two gears on the driving and transfer shafts or the clockwork driven gear and the time gear, and a computing unit operatively geared to said transfer unit.

11. A taximeter including a main driving shaft 11, a transfer shaft, a clockwork driven gear loosely mounted on said shaft .and having laterally projecting fins, a computing shaft, time printing disks loosely mounted on the computing shaft, and means, consisting of a wheel having spaced lugs thereon adapted to be engaged by said fins and a star wheel, for operating the time printing disks.

12. A taximeter including a main driving shaft, a computing shaft, a shiftable transfer shaft, means for yieldingly engaging said transfer shaft to permit of its being shifted axially a predetermined distance by a manual thrust, a permanently meshing gear connection between the transfer shaft g and the computing shaft, a plurality of register units supported on the computing shaft, and a permanently meshing gear connection direct between the drivingshaft and one of the register units on the computing shaft.

13. A taximeter including driving and computing shafts, type wheels carried by said computing shaft, a shiftable transfer shaft constitutlng the operative connection therebetween, check means carried by the transfer shaft, means for yieldingly engaging the check means, flag controlled means adapted to be moved into position to prevent shifting of the transfer shaft while set in a tariff position, and printing means for taking impressions from the type wheels carried by the computing shaft.

14. A taximeter including printing mech anism and a ticket slot communicating with said mechanism, and flag means for closing :and openingsaid slot.

15. A taximeter including printing mechanism and a ticket slot communicating with said mechanism, and means for closing the slot with the flag down and uncovering the slot with the flag up.

In testimon whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

, LEO EHRLIOH.

Witnesses:

M. P, SMITH, M. A. HANDEL. 

